Paper feeder



T. W. HORN PAPER FEEDER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug.

In renibn THOMA 5 WA; rs R HOJEAL nanny:

T. w. HQRN PAPER FEEDER Dec. 29, 1931.

5 Sheets-Shea; 2

' Filed Au 25, 1929 QNN R E. an |.\lnm,\1|l Mn 3. n6 Wm mm @b lib it I Ii 0 WP w 1 7 L111. I1 -Jwitlhifi il A 17 I 1. V i LI 2 0 2 I Q i m R R mm NA RN 5% m 2w 3 8 &

T. W. HORN Dec. 29, 1931.

PAPER FEEDER 5 Sheets-Sheet a Filed Aug. 26, 1929 II. I lnllllllv I n van 2 or THOMAS W44 re a Homv.

Dec. 29 1931. w, HORN 1,838,624

PAPER FEEDER Filed Aug. 26, 1929 s She'ets-heet 1 s 20 of a printing machine, whereby the straightlating means; and

Afurther object is the provision of simple mechanism y be of y known i I o the purposes of the present application, I

Patented as, 1931 1,838,624

g UNITED STATES PATENT iorrlcs THOMAS WALTER HORN, OF CLEVELAND; OHIO BAYER FEEDER Application 111 a August 28, 1929. Serial llo. 888,407..

This invention relates to improvements in Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the 7 paper feeders, particularlyto means for feedsame; in sheets of paper in close succession to a Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the feeder- -printing machine or other paper han ling Fig. 5 is a fragmenta'l elevational view of 5) machine. Y the fixed guide;

One of the objects of the invention is the 6 1s a side elevational view showing provision of a feeder which shall include my eedermounted in a Rotaprint machine paper straightening means operating eifecand operatively connectedsvith a pile feeder; tively upon sheets movin in close succession, Fig. 7 is a plan view of a sheet guiding and without damage to t e sheets, such feedmeans;

ing of sheets inclose succession being neces- Fig. 8 s a side view of the stri per barsary where the printing area of the printing Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectiona viewof roll covers approximately the entire surface the same; of the roll. Fig. 10 is an end elevational view, some- Another object is the provision of means what diagrammatic in character, illustrating l6 for swinging the rear edge of each sheet out the shee rlpp r ar n she d hvery of the direct path of movement of the sheets guide fingers; I p after its forward edge is gripped by a osi- Fig. 11 is a detail longitudinal sectional tive feeding means, such as the printing rolls 7 W f he comhlned clutch and feed regll- 7 ening stop fingers may be advanced into the F g. is {I end View Of the same -talmii path of movement ofthe sheets without. enp t y n l n n he line l2-1,2ofF1g. 11. countering and damagingthe rear edge ofthe Similar reference characters refer to sheet then in process of being printed. P 8 thrpughout the .views. I

Another object is the provision of simple Referr ng first to Fig. 6, I have llustrated means for adjusting he feed of the sheets h rem a -prel1mmary sh'ect feeding means with respect to the printing surface of the sel ilng to separate the sheets from a pile or printing roll, whereby the margin at th t stack and d rect them one by one and n close succession into my sheet feeder.

of the sheet may be varied.

means for declutching the sheet feeder, and able form- That illustrated herein is a pile for directing the feed of a paper 'web'into feeder P S g f ame If}, a vert cally the printing machine to one side of the sheet movable pl rm 11 P 1 which the pile of feeder, so that paper in either sheet or web h 1S PP In illating 811cf m may b d tion head 12:. pivoted at 14 and operatiyely Other objects and features of novelty will connected wll'h suction 11119 an P 0f appear as I proceed with the description of Positively rotated e mus 16 511217? 18 that embodiment of the invention which, for

IS a tape conveyor driven in the direction indicated by the arrow for carrying sheets I from the pile feeder to my im roved sheet have llhlstrilt'edl m the accompanymg draw feeder, the latter being moun within the t lvhlch: casing 19 of a Rotaprint or other paper v Fig. 1 is, an end view, partiallyin section, handlin machine, which may be PPM/d Of a feeder embodying y mvention in upon suitable legs 20. sembled relation with a Rotaprint machine, A My f d i so d ig d t b quicklv U5 certain principal elements of the latter beand a ily mduntedv upon 9, Bots; rint ma:- ing illustrated for the most part in a diachine as now manufactured and sold. These gramniatic manner; machine'scomprise frame rods 21 and 22, and

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the feeder it is upon these rods'thatIsupportm fee er alone; 7 exclusively,-no changes whateverintlle Rotag asse ses rint machine being required, and no bolt quite possible to substitute completely ciroles being necessary. The end frame memcular elements if desired. bers of my feeder are indicated generally at Near the ends of the shaft 50 just within 23. These members are connected b parallel the end members 23 of the frame, I fix to the rods 24, and 26, having shoul ered and shaft two sets of cams 56, 57 and "58. The 79 threaded ends for the rece tion of clamping largest 'cams 56 are adapted to engage the nuts, sothat' the side mem ers of the frame cam followers 48 and to hold the rollers 41 are-properly spaced and securely held toout of contact with the sectors 53 while the gether. The side members 23 have secured followers 48 run upon the outer periphery l0 thereto, by bolts 27, shoes 28 which are re-, of the cam, and permitting the springs 47 to 75 cessed to fit over the rod 21 of the Rotaprint force the rollers 41 into contact with the secmachlne. A pair of hook bolts 29, mounted tors when the followers are running upon the 1n the frame of the tape conveyor 18, serve inner contour of the cam. the double purpose of holding the sh 28 The cam 57 at each end of the machine is 5 on the rod 21 and of securing the tape conengaged b a f ll 59 n one arm of :1 veyor to the Rotaprint machin N the bell-crank lever 60, the other arm 61 of which ends Ofthe r d 24 I mount U- c1amps P has a tension spring 62 attached thereto, the vided Wlth holes tllIOllgh WhlCll extend SUP- pposite end of the spring being secured. to orting rods 31 havmgnuts 32 and 33 thereon the frame rod 24 so as to hold the follower 59 pp g he/ sldes 0f h p against the surface of the cam. The. bell- 8 Att elrlower ends these rods carry C-shaped cranks 0 1 are i d t a h ll k clamps that are movable P i f shaft 63 which carries at regular intervals 31 {*h y he held y nuts 35 and 36 111 along its length fingers 64 having on their 25 PQ to a p h rod 22 0f the Rota free endsstops'65 which are adapted to pro- P v trude through slots in the plate and into 90 T P l compllses dl'lveh the notches formed at the upper edge of the 9 37 t P r011 38 Whlch holds plate 39. Stop means differing in detail from the Sheets 11! Contact Wlth the tapes 18 P that shown could, of course, be employed. As

g W the T011 thereby assisting in the will be apparent from an inspection of Fi feed 0ft 9 sheets lhto h? h g mouth of a 1,the rotation of the cam 57 will cause the 9 he upper edge of plate 39 is notched out 35 -at regular intervals, as shown in Fig. 5, so gg gf ggfi as to permlt the'feed rolls or wheels 41 to tively Slender upward ex protrude therethrough. These wheels are extensions mounted upon a sleeve 42which is rotatably r bers 23 has a relamo tension 66. These 45 ing bracket 46 is a coil sprin 47 which tends F path for the-movtmenb of sheets whiqh is no to force the block inwar y. On the pins b y the plates 39 and 40. The late 69 is con- 3 there are cam followers 48 to be referred tinned at its'lower; end in a wide curve 70, in

to a

A sh d ft d e tgiids throughthe feeder from Order to present all tunes a smotlth lend to end, being mounted in bearings 51 and non'anguiarisurfaqe to the sheets-bang fed, 115 52 i d b the end walls 23; o this shaft Theswmgmg guide 68, 69 1s pulled toward at regular. intervals are secured feed sec- Its P posmon a 0011 Sprmg 3 tors 53, these sectors being secured to the end of latter l attached to pm shaft 50 by means of semi-c1rcular clam s 54 mounted m the outer end of bracket on 5 which are attached to the sectors by-stu s 55. the late '68 near the ends thereof are Pan's 9 The sectors 53 have peripheries of circular Per orated lugs Between a such P contour which enter slots of suitable size and of h1g5 I t an y 011 each of form in the guide plate 40. The sectors 53 these v is mounted ushapefi clamp are po itioned dir ctly oppo it th roller 7 5 provided with downwardly extending por- F 1 and ar da t d t cooperate th ith 'tions for the support of a rod 76. Upon the for feeding sheets of pa 1. While Iprefer latter, at each end of the feeder, 1s plvoted to make these sectors oFemi-circular form, one end of a lever 77, the opposite end being in order to leave the space between the guide pivotally mounted upon the frame rod 26, plates 39 and -10 entirely unobstructed'durin Each lever 7 7 carnes intermediate its ends a a aportion of the cycle of operations, it 1s cam follower 78 that runs upon the ad acent L3 to enable the extension 91 to clear the slot in 'the sleeve '88, which is also far enough to either side of the sleeve 88 has I therein through which extend bolts 93,-thecam 58.- One half of'this cam is circular and the other half has one high spot with a s mmetrical' approach and descent from an to thecircular portion. It will be apparent, therefore, that through one-half the cycle of movements the guide 68, 69 is in its full line or normal position, while during the remaining half of the cycle it is swinging from this normal position-to the -dotted line position and back again.

Outside thebearing 51 a bushing 79 surrounds the shaft 50 andserves as abearing for a sleeve 80. On one end of the latter there isfixed a gear 81, which meshes with. any driving gear on the Rotaprint or other machine to which the feeder of the present invention may be attached. Preferably the gear 81 meshes for this purpose with a gear 150, Fig. 6, which in turn has driving connection with roll 102. On its opposite end the sleeve is provided with a circular flange 82 having a hole 83 therein... The outer end of the shaft 50 beyond the sleeve 80 has pinned thereto a disc'84 provided with a circular flange 85, enclosing the flange 82 of the sleeve and preferably knurled on its outer surface. In this disc there is a slot 86-of arcuate shape. A kidney-shaped plate 87 covers a portion of this slot and has formed integral therewith a sleeve 88 which extends'perpendicularly tothe plate and whose diameter is only slightly less than the width of the slot. Within this sleeve is a plunger or pin 89 having a knurled wheel 90 pinned to its outer end, the hub of the wheel beingprovided with an extension 91 which takes into a slot in the sleeve member 88. 7 A. coil spring 92 surrounds the small diameter portion of pin 89 and tends to hold the pin in the hole 83. When the operator desires to declutch the two plates 82 and 84,

he grasps the wheel 90, pulls it out far enough withdraw the pm' 89 from the hole 83; He

then turns the wheel 90 through part of a revolution so that the extension 91 rests upon the outer end of the sleeve 88, thereby hold-' ing the pin 89 in its withdrawn position... The plates 82, 84am then, of course, free to rotate relatively to each other.- The plate 87 on a bolt hole heads of the latter being flattened on one side,

as indicated in Fig. 12, .to prevent rotation.

Washers 94 and nuts 95 on the inner ends of these bolts serve to secure the plate87' in place. However, when the nuts 95 are loos ened, the plate 87 may be moved angularly" through a considerable are for the purpose of adjusting the angular position of the pin 89 in the plate 84. By this means'pthe relation of the paper feed tothe "printin of the printing machine iseasily an variedor adjusted.

surface quickly 'bar 107 fits over On the protruding end of the shaft 50 1 secure a crank 96to which is attached a connecting rod 97,

cillating suction head 13 for driving the lat.- ter. By this means the o' rations o the suction head are timed wit the operations -of my feeder, one "sheet being delivered to the feeder for each revolution of. the shaft 50.

For the purpose of illustrating one of the applications of the invention, I have shown herein, somewhat diagrammatically, the principal parts of a Rotaprint machine, the plate roll being roll at 101, and the back roll at 102. Their directions of rotation are indicated by arrows. It will be understood that the plate roll and the blanket roll each makeonerevolution for every revolution of the shaft 50 of my feeder. In machines of this character, I have found that there is a strong tendency for the paper sheets toadhere to the surface of the blanket roll. Hence a stripper must be novel construction which will now be described.

Within the recess 103 of the blanket roll between the ends of the blanket, I" fix a rod 104 which runs parallel to the axis of the roll from end to end thereof. This rod is supported at its ends in brackets 105 which are secured to the roll by studs which extend through slots 106 in the brackets. A stripper the rod 104, being provided with a slot 108'which loosely receives the rod, this slot being deeper at its endsjthan in the middle, as will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 9. The ends-of the bar have attached thereto retaining straps 109 that ex'-- tend around the rod 104. but permit a slight movement of the bar toward and away from the rod. Thus the bar 107 in a sense floats upon the rod 104.

I The outer surface of the bar 107 is concave, its curvature"corresponding substantially to that of the back roll 102 with which it coop? erates. This outer surface has formed therein a series of transverse slots 110, the bottoms of which are formed on aconvex curve. Torsion springs 111 anchored in the brackets 105 and in the straps 109, as shown in Fig. 9, tend to'hold the rear edge of the stripper bar outwardly, as indicated in the dotted linepositions of the bar in Figs. 1 and 10.

112 are a series of guide wires which are mounted on parallel rods 113 and 114, these the opposite end of which is ,pivotaliy joined to the upper end of the os- I provided in the proper feeding of the illustrated at 100, the blanket wires being positioned so as. to come directly opposite the grooves 110. Below the horizontal portions of the wires 112 I may mount a flat plate 115 to guide the sheets into any suitable delivery means, not shown. In order to assist in the stripping of the pa the stripper bar has movedout 0 contact with the paper,'I provide wheels 116, posier after .118, the upper ends of tioned near the sides of the machine where they are adapted to run upon the margins of the paper. These Wheels are caused to bear resiliently upon the surface of back roll 102, being mounted upon levers 117 which are under pressure from coil springs 119. The supports for the wheels 116 are adjustab upon the rods 113 and 114. As the forward edge of a sheet of paper leaves the guide 68, 69, itpasses between the roll 102 and the rear edge of the stripper bar 107. That bar is then gradually rocked upon its pivot 104 by contact with the roll 102 against the tension I 0 springs 111 until it takes the full line posit1on of Figs. 1 and 10, when the forward edge of the sheet is firmly gripped between the roll 102 and the bar 107. Further rotation of the roll 101 permits the spring 111 to swing the .bar 107 upon its pivot, thereby holding the rear edge of the bar against the back roll 102 with sutficient pressure to continue the feed of forward edge of the latwires 112 before the strip the levers 77 the sheet, so that the ter is well under the per bar lets go.

On the frame rod 26 between I mount a wooden roller 120, a being preferably interposed between the roller and. the rod. This roller is for the purpose of guiding paper in web form upwardly from a rotatably mounted roll of paper (not shown) feeder and thence into the printing machine. All that is necessary in order to make this change is to declutch the plates 82 and 84, as previously explained, and to start the web eed. Paperin sheets or in web form is therefore equally available for use upon the machine.

0pemtz'on.-With regard to the o eration of the sheet feeder, assuming that a piiia feeder is hooked up to the. machine, as indicated in I F1g. 6, and assuming that the clutch pin 89 the pile 12 and is in operative position, the motor of the printing machine is started, causing the rotation of crank 96, which imparts oscillating movement to the suction head 13 .through connecting rod 97. At each revolution of the crank 96, therefore, a sheet is removed from is placed upon the conveyor 18 which moves the sheet forward through the feed rolls 37, 38 into the fixed guide 39, 40 and up against the stops 65, the sector 53 and the other parts attached to shaft then being in a position somewhat less advanced than that shown in Fig. 1, so that the sector 53 does not protrude into the path of movement of the sheet nor hamper its travel. Immediately afterthe shaft 50 reaches the position illustrated in Fig. 1, the follower 59 runs u onto the outer contour of-cam 57,

"retracting the stop fingers 65, and the follower 48 descends. to the'inner contour of cam pivoted at le transversely bushing 121 l to one side of the sheet aeaaeae um paper sheet and hold it against the positlve y moving sectors 53. The sheet is thereby fed forward in a positive manner and enters the space between guide plates 68 and 69. It travels through the its forward edge is gripped between the stripper bar 107 and back roll 102, as previously explained, the bar 107 having progressed by t at time from the position of Fig. 1 to that Fig. 10. Thereafter a positive feeding movement is imparted to the forward edge of the sheet by the printing rolls and by wheels 116.

Shortly after this occurs, the high part of the cam 56 again engages the follower 48 and the rollers 41 are thereby forced out of contact with the paper sheet so that the rear edge thereof is then free and the sheet is fe only by the action of the rolls 101 and 102 and the wheels 116. At about the time the rear end ofthe sheet is thus released, the hi h spot of the cam 58 be 'ns to lift the follower 78 and to swing lever 7 upwardly around the rod 26 as a ivot, and the resultant movement of the pin 76 in an arc of a circle swings the guide 68, 69 upon its pivot 67 from the full ine position to the dotted line position. The plate 69 is thereby caused to pull transversely upon the sheet, swin mg the free rear portion thereof out of the i rect path of movement of the sheet and pulling it entirely clear of the fixed guide 39, 40. n the course of this swinging movement, the sheet contacts with the curved portion 70 of the plate 69 further and further toward the outer .edge thereof, but at all times the :sheet is moved over a curve of large radius so that its travel is not interfered with. At about the time the guide plates 68, 69 are at the furthest point of their swing, the follower 59 descends onto the inner contour of the cam 57 causing the stop fingers to again move across the path of the sheets in the guide 39, 40 ready for guide 68, 69, and

engagement with the next sheet advancing wit my mechanism on account of the fact that the stripper bar 107' IS adapted to grip the sheet when its-forward edge is at any one of venous points between t e forward and rear edges of the bar. In other words, the sheet does not need to meet gripping fingers set at a definite point in the periphery of the printing roll, as is usual. Hence I am enabled to obtain margins of variou's depths at the top of the sheet by merely changing the angular position of the pin 89 in the dlsc 84, as previously described, thereby emargin above the print-- pa er. This may be vareaders.

advancing or retarding the feed of the sheets w th r ect to the rotation of the roll 101.

It wil be obvious that the concave surface ofthestripperbar 107 holds the sheets against 6 the back roll 102 until their forward edges have traveled to a greater or lesser extent under the guide wires 112. It will also be apparent that the rear edge of stripper bar 107 is held against the roll 102 by the torsion 10 springs 111 until the paper is well entered beneath the wires 112, even though the feed adJustment be such that the forward edges of the sheets lie but a short distance beyond the rear edge of the strip er bar.

The rod 104 is resi ient, and in ractice, the brackets 105 are so set that when t e striper bar engages the roll 102 the rod 104 is exed. In this manner the bar 107 is held under spring pressure.

, against the roll..

20 1 On account of the fact that the slot 108 tapers towardthe middle, the bar 107 may ad ust itself to the roll 102 accurately by a lengthwise tilting action.

While in the foregoing description and in the accompanyingdrawings, I have disclosed more or less in detail one particular embodiment of the invention, I desire it to be under-' stood that such detailed disclosure is primarily for the purpose of fully illustrating so the invention and is-not to be construed as amounting to a limitation upon its scope.

Having thus described my invention, claim: g

1. A method of feeding sheets in close succession, which consists in causing each sheet to impinge against a stop, with rawing the stop and continuing the feed, and movin the rear edge of the sheet independently o the feed thereof out of the way of said stop.- 2. A method of feeding sheets in close suceession along a given course and straighten-- ing them in that course, which consists of interposing astop against which the forward edge of each s eet impinges and by which its travel istemporarily interrupted, withdrawin the stop from the path of move- M ment 0 the sheet, imparting a positive feeding movement to the sheet in advance of said stop,-and moving the sheet transversely 60 of said path between the stop and said positive feeding means, whereby therear end of the sheet is drawn laterally away from said 3. A method of feeding and alignin sheets travelling in close succession, whic consists in advancing the sheetsthrough a given path one at a t me into contact with a front end sto [to-straighten the sheets, with drawing sai stop, continuing the feed of each sheet into ,a pivoted guide and'through the same until the forward end of the sheet is gripped by moving elements producing, further feeding of the sheet, swinging th "endpf-thepivoted guide to draw the rear end v v v and thereafter to a prmtmgmachme to operate m timed re- 1:0

of the sheet out of path,

guide adapted to receive the sheet and guide thereof.

. guidin ment, and

for moving the rear ally after it is releasedrby the rear feeding moving said stop into operative position for enga ement with the next sheet.

4. n asheet feeder, a stop means, means for feeding a sheet against said stop means, means forwithdrawing the stop means an continuing the feed of the sheet, a movable the same in its further forward travel, and timed means for moving said guide transversely of the path of the sheet, whereby the rear end of the sheet is drawn out of the path of movement taken by the forward end 5. In apparatus of the class described,

means for'directing the travel of sheets in close succession along a given path, a stop 'moving into said path for engagement with each sheet to straighten the same and then moving out of said path, a positive sheet feeder insaid path in advance of said stop, a portion of said guiding means between said positive feeder and said stop being movable transversely, and means for moving said portion to produce lateral movement of the rear end of each sheet during the period when said stop is; withdrawn.

6. In apparatus of the class described, guiding means for directing the travel of sheets in close succession along a given path,

a stop moving into said path for engagement as with each sheetto straighten the same-and then moving out of said path, a positive sheet feeder in said path in advance of said stop,

a portion of said guidin means between I said positive feeder and said stop being piv- 10o otally mounted near its forward end to I swing transversely of the said path of movemeans for swinging said portion upon its pivot to produce lateral movement of'the rear end of each sheet during the period when said stop is withdrawn.

7. In a sheet feeder, two sets of positive feeding means spaced apart alonga pathof sheet travel, means for disabling the rear feeding means after eachsheet is gripped by the forward feeding means, and means interposed between saidtwofeeding means movable transversely of said path of travel I i end of each sheet later- 115 means. 7

8. a device of the class described, a latorally swinging sheet guide comprising a pa rof; spaced plates between which tthe sheet is no fed, and means timed with the feed of the I 1 sheets for swinging said guide to bring the rear end thereof toa position to one sideof the direct path of movement of the sheets one of said plates having a curved rear cg adapted to engage said-sheets in the displaced position of said guide. 9. In combination, a sheet feed mechamsm, drivin means therefor adapted to be geared adjacent rotary members turning about the same axis, a longitudinally slidable gin eccentrically mounted in one member a a ted to fit into a hole in the other member, an means for angularly pin in its me r.

10. In mechanism of the class described,

a air of coo eratin rolls, a paper stri per cai ried by on of sai d rolls, means for ceding a sheet between said rolls at each revolution of said stripper, said stripper in the one roll covering a substantial sector of the other stripper passes between the rolls,

wh be caused to assume positions at various distances in advance of the rear edge of the rupted and cause the forward stripper.

, 11. In machine of the class described, a roll having a longitudinal recess therein, a stripper bar in said recess mounted upon a longitudinal pivot located in the recess,'said rear edge of said stripper bar.

In combination, a frame adapted to support printing mechanism, a sheet feeder adapted to be removabl mounted in the frame and a deflectin r0 ler carried by said sheet i' eeder over whic a aper web is adapted to run, whereby the Feeder may be per a paper web.

13. In combination, a frame support printing mechanism, adapted to be frame, driving means for said sheet feeder adapted to be operatively connected with the printing mechanism, said driving means beadapted a sheet feeder -1ng'readily disconnectable, and 'a deflecting roller carried by said sheet feeder over which a paper web is adapted to run, whereby the operation of said sheet feeder printing mechanism without removlng said sheet feeder from the frame. v 4. combination, a pair of cooperating be varied 1:6

by the feed of sheets may" edges of the sheets to adjusting the mounting of the removably mounted in the may be intertaeaeae gripping device at different positions angularly of its roll.

testimony whereof, I hereunto aifix my signature.

THOMAS WALTER HORN.

gripping device mounted upon cooperate with 

